“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!” Psalm 98:4 ESV
Reflection: how can noise be joyful?
The Industrial Revolution caused a mass migration of people from country to cities; from farms to factories. And with the increase in population density, came lots of noise. A constant hum, of cars and machinery, running day and night. Some people barely know what nature sounds like any longer. They only know the sounds and the noise of the city. So when we hear the psalmist talking about “a joyful noise”, it is hard for us to understand this, as we often think about noise as something we want to get away from. But, still
God tells us to make a joyful noise!
I’m sitting on Waikiki beach at 6am, watching the sunrise over the famous Diamonhead mountain and listening to the roar of the rolling waves. And it strikes me as I am sitting here, thinking that nature is not shy expressing the glory, the splendor of the Lord, right? It does that in full sight and sound, unapologetically. While this is also “noise”, it is so amazing to listen to! With its loud and joyful expression, it gives us such joy, such peace as we were created to have. And what a contrast to the noise from machinery!
So can we too make a joyful noise?
If you think about it, who trained the waves to make this beautiful noise? The leaves rustling in the wind? The birds chirping all with their own unique sound? Maybe we all know instinctively, have been created to make joyful noise to the Lord, just like we can notice all throughout nature? I don’t think we need training to do what we have been created to do. So what are the key ingredients to joyful noise? Well, clearly noise, right? But, since even machines can make noise, the most important component, which comes first in joyful, is joy. It is pretty difficult to create the joyful noise to the Lord without “joy in the Lord”. And, with the joy in the Lord, good noise will come from us.
Let’s spend more time with the Lord today, because only in His presence is there true joy, as all of nature knows. “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”Psalm 16:11 ESV. And let’s make some noise full of joy to the Lord!